Maintenance, Planning Keep Water Systems in the Clear

The thirsty southwest United States are finding new answers for bringing clean water to residents and businesses. With those answers come new challenges.

Drought and population growth have contributed to shrinking groundwater supplies, which are the principal resources for many communities.

Cities such as Gallup, New Mexico and Goodyear, Arizona, long dependent on groundwater, are turning to surface water resources to supplement their supplies. But mixing water sources can impact the distribution systems that convey treated water to users. Different chemical balances in mixed supplies can destabilize mineral scales in distribution pipes, causing discolored water at the tap, or even unhealthy contamination.

At Gallup, Jacobs is working with city officials and technical personnel on a plan to clean and prepare distribution networks so they’re ready to handle a new normal for water, while sustaining public health and aesthetics. When the time comes, and with proper planning, Gallup residents, including Native American populations in the surrounding region, will turn on their taps to clean, clear water from a more plentiful and reliable source.

Rich Giani, drinking water technical coordinator in Jacobs’ Operations Management and Facilities Services Group, shares, “Only a few companies are doing this work, but we’re a key player because Jacobs has the technology and the understanding in-house to support safe water from source to tap.”

In other southwest communities, Jacobs is actively improving and maintaining distribution systems. For example, at Farmington, New Mexico, we’re applying a highly water-efficient cleaning and unidirectional flushing technology that is ideal for systems in climates where every drop is precious. By conducting extensive system analyses and electronic modeling, we’ve developed a comprehensive data set to support and inform ongoing and future system-cleaning projects, enabling accurate cost estimating and scheduling.

With our knowledge and experience gained in the southwest and elsewhere, Jacobs is in a unique position as a thought-leader in distribution system maintenance and planning. Cities nationwide are benefiting from what we’ve learned. We’re helping communities like Cocoa Beach and Melbourne, Florida, where water supply from multiple sources and salt-water infiltration in groundwater raise complex operation and maintenance issues on a broader scale.

Additionally, Rich is working with the American Water Works Association and the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators to prepare and deliver training for water officials and regulators as revisions and updates to the Lead and Copper Rule take effect, and communities must take action, including cleaning their distribution systems, to assure compliance. This is the first time in more than 27 years that such training has been conducted, and once again the Jacobs team is in the lead. For more on our efforts to assist clients and the industry with understanding and compliance with the new rule, visit https://www.jacobs.com/drinking-water-week/water-we-doing-for-public-health.